Tag Archives: Evie Smith

Incredible experience as the natural resources intern

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Seven kids in artist smocks work at a long table covered in paper.
Kids get messy with activities at 4-H STEAM summer camp.
Photo credit: Sofie Carlson

Hi again, it’s Sofie Carlson, welcome back to my blog! I am in the final week of my incredible experience as the natural resources intern at Lincoln County Extension. Let me give you an update on the projects I’ve been working on this summer:

  • I continued composing the monthly newsletters that my supervisor, Evie Smith, sends out: Small Farms TLC Newsletter, which provides relevant information for small farms and ranches in Tillamook, Lincoln and Clatsop counties; and LC Master Gardener’s Newsletter, which contains information and expertise to help our Master Gardeners (and any other readers) meet local challenges. In total, I helped put out six newsletters!
  • I finished redesigning an updated brochure for Lincoln County Local Foods that will deliver information on all of the producers in Lincoln County conducting farm direct sales at the four local farmers markets in our county: what they sell, how to contact them and when the markets are I am really proud of the final version and can’t wait to see the printed copies make their way into the community. I joined in on one more Cooking Matters Tour at the Newport Farmers Market, with our FCH/SNAP-Ed Program Coordinator, Beatriz Botello, and Nutrition Education Program Assistant Jennifer Pettit. I hope that the brochure I created can draw more attention to Lincoln County’s farmers markets and the valuable tour that Beatriz and Jennifer give.
  • I collected more blueberries and blackberries at Gibson Farms! I ended up completing seven collections at six different sites within the blueberry farm, contributing data for a larger ongoing research project that monitors a pest called spotted wing
  • I did my last round of maintenance on a project called Juntos en el Jardin, which is a community garden located at the Newport This has been rewarding work and I am glad to have been involved in making the garden a more accessible space. I also joined Sea Grant marine fisheries educator Angee Doerr for four Fridays, with her Shop at the Dock program. I greeted and organized the tour groups for the guides to then teach families about Newport’s commercial fisheries through a tour of the port.
  • Lastly, I attended the Kids’ Garden Fair at the Lincoln City Demonstration Garden and assisted 4-H Youth Development Program Leader Shelley Spangler with one of her summer camps. These two experiences helped solidify my love for working with
  • youth and being outside learning about the natural world.
Picture of a dock in Oregon, with a sign over a walkway that says Port of Newport, Dock 5.
Shop at the Dock gives tours of the fishing boats, gear, and fisheries associated with Port Dock 5.
Photo credit: Sofie Carlson

As my time in Oregon comes to a close, at least for the time being, and I reflect on my summer, I want to give a huge thanks to my supervisor, Evie Smith, for her support and guidance. I have absolutely loved working with her and I could not have asked for a better role model to mentor me in this position. I would also like to thank all of the people I worked with at the Lincoln County Extension office; it was an amazing work environment, and I will miss working there! Lastly, I want to thank my aunt, Emily Blume, for telling me about this opportunity and letting me live with her and her family for the past two months in this beautiful state.

I will soon be heading back home to Vermont, where I will be starting a new job as a Naturalist Educator at North Branch Nature Center in Montpelier. I am excited to begin the next chapter of my life, teaching environmental education to youth in my home state.

Exploring all that Extension has to offer

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Hi, my name is Sofie Carlson, and welcome to my first blog post! I grew up in Vermont and went to school at St. Lawrence University in upstate New York. I graduated this past May with a degree in environmental studies and economics and now I am spending the summer as the natural resources intern for the Lincoln County Extension office. This is just the second time I have ever been out West and I am really enjoying my time here.

A woman stands in a grassy area, holding a bag and a box.
At Gibson Farms in Siletz, collecting blueberries and blackberries to be sent to the lab in Corvallis for testing.
Photo credit: Sofie Carlson

It is now Week 5 of my internship, so I am about halfway through –  time is flying. As the natural resources intern, I have mainly been working with my supervisor, Evie Smith, the Small Farms and Master Gardener coordinator in Lincoln County. However, I am working in several other branches of Extension, including Sea Grant, SNAP-Ed, Agriculture and 4-H.

Here are some of the projects I am in the midst of:

– I am assisting in the composition of the monthly newsletters that Evie sends out: Small Farms TLC Newsletter, which provides relevant information for small farms and ranches in Tillamook, Lincoln and Clatsop counties, and LC Master Gardener’s Newsletter, which contains information and expertise to help our Master Gardeners (and any other readers) meet local challenges. I have never put together a newsletter before, so it has definitely been a learning process, but luckily, I have a great mentor to show me the ropes.

– I am in the process of redesigning and distributing an updated brochure for Lincoln County Local Foods that will deliver information on all of the producers in Lincoln County that are doing farm direct sales. Farm direct sales are when the farmers sell directly to you, without a middleman, by methods such as farm stands, CSAs, and dock sales. The brochure lists which farms sell at the four local farmers markets in our county, what they sell, how to contact them and when the markets are held. Last weekend I joined our FCH/SNAP-Ed Program Coordinator, Beatriz Botello, in her Cooking Matters Tour at the Newport Farmers Market, which inform people how they can use their SNAP benefits at the farmers market. It was an educational opportunity for families to learn how to budget, compare prices and shop locally.

A woman in overalls rakes through a compost pile.
Juntos en el Jardín: Moving compost at the community garden.
Photo credit: Michael Christy

– I am collecting blueberries and blackberries at Gibson Farms as part of a larger ongoing research project that monitors a pest called spotted wing drosophila. This is a weekly task that I look forward to because I get to be outside, chat with Farmer Alan, and eat a ton of freshly picked blueberries.

– I am also assisting in the maintenance of a project called Juntos en el Jardin, which is a community garden located at the Newport Fairgrounds and this week I will be joining Angee Doerr, Sea Grant marine fisheries educator, to run her annual Shop at the Dock program, teaching families about Newport’s commercial fisheries through a tour of the port. This program is a unique opportunity to meet the fishermen and boats that we buy our seafood from. It will be running for five weeks on Fridays.

So far, this position has been valuable, rewarding and fun. It has been a great way for me to explore several future career paths while gaining new knowledge and experience. I have enjoyed working for Extension and feel very lucky to be living with family in Oregon. I am looking forward to continuing working on the projects I’ve started, making new connections, and taking advantage of my time here until I head back East. I am very thankful for this opportunity. Catch you on the next blog post!